Teddi Mellencamp reveals doctors gave her ‘50/50’ odds of surviving cancer battle: ‘I’m really scared’
Teddi Mellencamp is fighting for her life.
The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum, 43, revealed on “Nightline” Thursday that her doctors have given her “50/50” odds of surviving her stage 4 cancer battle.
“I learned this isn’t the best question to ask if you’re doing immunotherapy, because immunotherapy has only been around 10 years,” Mellencamp said during the sit-down interview.
“It’s one of my favorite things to ask is ‘How long I got? What are my chances?’” she shared. “And they oftentimes say 50/50.”
Mellencamp recalled telling doctors, “50/50? I wouldn’t buy a car that’s only gonna drive 50 percent of the time. I don’t want this.”
“And [the doctor’s] like, ‘No, it’s only because that’s how long immunotherapy has been around so that’s how long the study has worked.’ So that’s when I then try to find the positive,” she added.
The reality star, who was initially diagnosed with melanoma in 2022, announced in February that there were tumors discovered in her brain and she would undergo surgery to remove them.
Mellencamp has since revealed the cancer metastasized to her brain and lungs.
During the “Nightline” interview, Mellencamp opened up about how her radiation and immunotherapy have taken a toll on her body.
“I would say the hardest thing for me is I’ve always been a super active person, and, like, I cannot do the things I was used to doing,” she explained, adding that her treatments have taught her to “not take anything for granted”
“Normally, I’m used to running seven miles, today I’m barely walking one. But you know what? I’m here and that makes me feel good,” she said. “These are special times that we get to do any of this.”
But Mellencamp admitted, “This is completely out of my control, and for the first time, I’m like really scared.”
She also spoke about how she’s relied on humor during this trying time, saying, “Even with my kids, the other day, we kept forgetting something and we often go, ‘The tumors!’ It’s kind of the only way.”
Mellencamp shares three children, Slate, 12, Cruz, 10, and Dove, 5, with estranged husband Edwin Arroyave.
During a recent episode of her “Two Ts in a Pod” podcast, Mellencamp revealed that her famous father, rocker John Mellencamp, is already planning her burial in their family’s mausoleum in Indiana.
In an Instagram statement, Mellencamp clarified that her grim chat with her father was merely a “light-hearted conversation” where they were “laughing the whole time.”
“I am personally doing well right now, and yes, having to deal with things I wouldn’t otherwise,” she wrote, adding, “but the way this is being portrayed isn’t accurate.”
The mom of three also insisted that she was joking when she said that her tombstone would read, “Hot girls never die.”
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